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Paladin
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1984 ARCA Panga
Thanks to previous posts it looks like I finally figured out some of the info I wanted on this boat I recently bought in Fresno, Ca
Hopefully some of the experts out there can help me on some other questions.
Based on the seriel number ARCZ00091284 I know it was the 9th one made of this stlye in 1984. I have measured it numerous times and its always beteen
20 ft 4 in and 20ft 6 in, so I'm assuming it was the somewhat unusual 20 foot model since folks have told me most were 22 foot.
Based on other info Im told this is a Diaz ARCA Panga made in LaPaz before he left the firm and went out on his own.
Some of the experts have said the depth of the boat, from gunnels to deck?? is important.. This one measures 25 in....and 12 in from front gunnel to
top of front dect which comes back about 7 feet, within about 13 in of the front of steering counsel. I was told the gas tank is 60 gallons and it is
all underneath the front deck. I guess this means it is a "Super Panga"??? The boat is also 6 ft 2 in at its widest.
My main questions are
#1 Is the gas tank still good and what is it made of??
#2 Im concerned about what is under the deck?? Is it wood and will it rot??
#3 I'll be wanting some work done on it before I make my great escape to Mulege area...should I take it to LaPaz or East cape to have it worked on???
#4 I'd almost like the gas tank under the deck and Id like some railings put on
#5 Maybe even a Bimini Top
I keep hearing screams from this boat wanting to get back accross the border
Thanks for anyone/everyones help
Terry
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pangamadness
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Does it look like this?
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pangamadness
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Or this
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vandenberg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by pangamadness
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Yes,Yes, just like that
I have one just like it
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vandenberg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by pangamadness
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On your way to Hawaii, right??
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pangamadness
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or this
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comitan
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I think you will find that the boat was made by shroyer anyway thats who made the Arca Pangas, It is doubtful that the gas tank is still good since if
I'm correct its made of Fiberglas the one I know of the same era had to be changed, but it was left in the water a lot of the time. One of the main
problems with this era is the floor if walking on it its spongy, the wood stringers are gone. Shroyer is not making boats anymore they have Marina De
La Paz, I can maybe ask some questions about your boat with shroyer or just confirm what I have stated. The Diaz Pangas came later where a high
gunnel and wider boat than the Arcas. If the side rails are yellow it definitely is a Shroyer boat.
[Edited on 5-20-2006 by comitan]
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Paladin
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Thanks for info on gas tank and stringers.
The gunnels are blue
Along with the registration # in the rear it says La Paz..Im fairly sure from Mr Chuck that it is an ARCA when Max owned it and Diaz just worked for
him...there seems to be a lot a variations of whats an ARCA is and whats a Diaz.....what I understand the ARCA name belonged to Max...Diaz left and
made his own boat...and Max continued without him for a while and then sold LaPaz ARCA business to someone else who then went out of business. In the
States it would be a little clearer on who actually had the right to the ARCA "name".
Is it a difficult and/or difficult expensive problem to test the gas tank?? And just take out deck, put in new stringers and tank??? My ignorant
thought was to think Diaz would actually be the best place to rebuild it or maybe better if Max knows someone in LaPaz...it still looks like a great
boat just the way it is..
Thanks again
Terry
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pangamadness
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Of the two Pangas I posted Photos of the one with the yellow rails has a forty Gal tank made from Fiberglass and that tank is no good. In the early
80s Shroier took it back and repaired the fiberglass tank. I had to give up on that tank about three years ago. Keep procrastinating the replacment.
Also those boats have problems with the stringers breaking out. I had to cut holes in the deck and reglass them on the yellow railed boat. I than
put poor expansion foam under the deck.
The boat with the blue rails has a galvanized tank and still works good. The guy who owns it does not know if the tank is origanal but it is still
going strong. It came from La Bay about three years ago.
Another problem I found was the tank vent was placed in a way that the water breaking off the bow would go straight in to the tank vent and fill the
gas tank with sea h2o. I know it was a problem on the two boats I posted photos of and another that belonged to a friend that was the same build. I
just put a clam shell over the gas vent and that solved that problem.
If you have repairs done at the new factory in Los Barilles I would like to know details I am thinking of doing the same thing.
Good Luck
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Pescador
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Lupe Diaz can do all of the repairs and correct any weaknesses in the boat. While he probably did not build it and had left when this boat was built,
he is intimately aware of those boats in general. I saw a boat very similar to your boat in his yard about two years ago and he was rebuilding the
deck, adding a different gas tank, and strengthing the connection of the deck to the hull. Watch for cracks about half way from the nose to the stern
where the deck connects, only on the outside on the gelcoat.
Mr. Chuck is really the expert on these boats, but the super panga was a longer boat than yours, I think.
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Paulina
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Our's is a 22' "Paceno" Panga from La Paz, circa 1982. It has a non functional side console, which is used to store fishing gear, maps, t.p. and a
handy "oh sh*t handle" (the non functional steering wheel) for our daughter. We don't have built in gas tanks, just a few bouncing around 6 1/2 gal.
aux. tanks with a 65 hp pull start Evinrude commercial tiller motor.
Does this hull sound similar to your boat? Her hull is yellow and gunnels are a darker yellow as well. When we bounce around we see the sides give
and take, it's not a thick glassed panga. She goes everywhere, but there are pros and cons.
On flat calm mornings she charges it, but on rough seas she gets slappy and bouncy. When we fish her off the Pacific coast she's a rough ride because
she's so light and long so we have to motor down and not go so fast. But, on the Sea of Cortez she seems to be designed for this type of condition. We
couldn't be happier.
The arguement my husband and I get into all the time is that he wants a heavier panga like the ones made in Ensenada, ie the Amato type pangas. My
gripe is that they are harder to launch, heaver all around, and not good for beach launching. What I like about our panga is that she's light and and
easy launch anywhere.
We have a bimini, red in color so she looks like a banana split on the water, yellow on the bottom, red on top. We'd like to add built in gas tanks
under the seats, but not sure if the stringers will be strong enough to hold the weight.
Our thoughts are if she'll hold 30 gal. worth of jerry cans, plus bait tank, ice chests, ect. she should be able to handle the extra weight of the
built in fuel tanks.
P. y D.
<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Skeet/Loreto
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For information:
In 1976 I ordered The "Patricia" from Mac in La Paz. My friends had suggested that Stringers be in the Deck as their Pangas were showing some
Spliting. The Patricia was the first production Panga with Stringers.
I had a contract , the Peso was 8 to 1. When I went to pick up the Panga itwas 12 to 1.ended up costing me $960 US.
I used that Panga for 27 years, first with a Homelite, then a 55 Evanrude Pull Start for 13 years, then a 70 Hp Evenrude- It had a side consol with ,
a bait box across the Middle.
I fished it from Tambabechie to San Marcos island during those years and found it to be a Stable Craft-Designed by Mac to carry 2,000 Lbs/ of Fish
through the pacific Surf.
I was caught 35 miles out on the Manadero Reef, the October Day it blew down the Bridge at the Golf Course. It went through 8 to 11 Foot Waves
rounding Doctors Points.
It was still in good shape when I sold it to Wayne for $5,000.
In my estimation it is the Best boat for the Sea Of Cortez if you are doing Beach Launching. But stay with no more than 70 HP.
Skeet/Loreto
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Skeet/Loreto
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On Second Thought for the Youngsters I should explain the "55 Hp Homelite"
In the 60's there was a Car Called the "Crosley". It was a small car but did not go over in the States at that time.The company went under and had
several Thousand 4 Cylinder Engines in Stock.
McColuck{SP] had opened a factory in Lake Havasu city Az. to produce Chain Saws. He bought all of the left over engines-tuned them vertical and
produced the "Homelite 55" It ran on regular Gasoline. 4 cylinder Alum Head . I used it until it became difficult to get parts. Sold it for $500
Dollars
more than I had Paid.
Skeet/Loreto
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Pescador
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Here is the relevant info sent to me back in 04 by Mr. Chuck
The first pangas made in the 60's were made in Mazatlan, and in the early 70's Max Schoyer bouth this factory and moved it to La Paz along with all of
the craftsmen and their families. One of the families was the Diaz Family. All Arca super pangas were 22 ft long and had a gas tank up from in a
compartment in front of the console. They made 16',18', 20', and a 24'on special order, but never really promoted these other lengths since the 22'
rode and sliced the waves so well.
In 1989 Lupe Diaz and families left the Arca factory and went out on their own, and started making a newly re-designed 23', all done in his new La
Paz factory, financed by the American Terry Maas, who lived in Loreto. The new design is over a foot longer and 9 " wider. Lupe really took over the
market with this boat as it ran better, carried more, sliced the waves better, and cost about the same as the Arca boats. Lupe Diaz built them in La
Paz until 1996 when a labor union strike closed him up and ran him out of business. In 1999, Lupe re-opened his business at a new location behind the
Palmas De Cortez hotel. By this time the Arca factory was out of business. Today Lupe has his factory in Los Barriles, on Hiway #1, just outside of
town to the west at KM #109.
About two years ago, a hardware store in La Paz had bought the old molds (or took them in for a debt) and offered to build me a boat for a really
reasonable price. When I talked to Lupe and some others however, they indicated that he was in the process of buying the older molds and that the
hardware store probably could not deliver a boat.
I have seen a ton of Arca pangas up and down the coast of Baja and they were great boats. With the seats mounted in typical fashion they are as
strong as a brick Sh** house. With the center console mount where they took out the seats and the ladder effect of strength, then some of those boats
tend to flex in the center area as I mentioned before. I was looking at a used boat that had those flexings and Lupe indicated that he knew exactly
how to repair and strengthen that area of the boat.
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Paulina
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Does Mr. Chuck still read this board or is he only on Baja.net? I'd like to know where the Paceno fits in to this story, and he would be the one to
answer this question.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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pangamadness
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Mr Chuck
If this works here is a Photo of Mr Chucks boat On the Diaz Ad. I also have the origanal plans for my 79' Peceno 20 ft panga hull. Just not sure how
to post them.
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pangamadness
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Peceno info
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pangamadness
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Peceno info
Peceno info
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pangamadness
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Peceno info
Cant make it any bigger than this.
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Paladin
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OK, thanks to all folks for info...if I can, this is what I think I've got.
I have a 1984 LaPaz 20ft special order ARCA super panga..looks like only 9 were built up to Dec of 1984...I got most of this from Mr Chuck
It looks like this particular boat has some center strength problems with a center consol as apposed to the bench which adds a lot of strenth..makes
sense to my feeble mind.
Sounds like the gas tank should be replaced which again makes sense.
My guess is the stringers are no good..I did find a lot of water underneath the hull when I pulled the drain plug out...my guess is there are some
cracks in the deck which wouldn't be there with a bench seat.
It also sounds like Lupe has and will fix this stuff all up so I can spend all my social security years fishing the Sea of Cortez out. I'm looking
forward to getting sun burn so bad I look like a lizard. My kids can make a belt out of my hide when the time comes.
Anyway my thoughts now are the gas tank and I'd like some opinions...I think a gas tank underneath the deck would be better balanced than one in the
front.....?????
I think doing the best possible upgrade in stringers would be smart...do they come in fiber glass and not wood???
Does Lupe have some sort of form floatation to fill in every crack possible underneath the deck??? How "unsinkable" would this make the boat???
Sounds like a 75 house power would be fine...any thoughts on just getting a 50 HP Honda which would probably out last me???
Any way thanks for all the reponses and info..
Terry
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